


Find The Answer

by Letzgetit (Marissaur)



Series: Somewhere in Aurora [3]
Category: ATEEZ (Band), NCT (Band)
Genre: A Sequel, M/M, i wrote this listening to it, please, steam kick it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:13:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23016829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marissaur/pseuds/Letzgetit
Summary: Mark and Haechan. Still going strong three years later. They fell in love with the cards they were dealt, because they care. Sometimes they care so much, no one else understands.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Series: Somewhere in Aurora [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1632748
Comments: 6
Kudos: 76





	1. Cause

In the three years since Haechan had married Mark he had seen so many things. Mark showed him the world for what it was. They never spoke about how they came to be together. They chose to focus on a better future with one another. Mark would sit in his study late some nights over working, over worrying, the little details. Haechan would wake to the cold bed and he knew where his husband was. Instead of going to him, they had a routine. It was established early on. Haechan made his way into their garden, carefully making his way over worn, flat stones into the floating gazebo. His piano was there, under the glass ceiling protected from the weather. But warmed from the sun shining on it all day. He would play it. Soft, gentle melodies that wound their way through the halls to Mark's ears. They got his attention every time.

Tonight was different. Mark wouldn't come no matter how much he played. In their three years they talked about many things that would be their lives together. But tonight Haechan's heat was to begin. He was always terrified. Mark always knew there was something. But Haechan wasn't comfortable when they were together nor would he be ok if they were apart for too long.  
Early in their marriage they had tried. But Haechan couldn't stay with Mark. They both knew when it happened. Haechan didn't feel anything, it's like he wasn't there. Mark would feel his lover go still, like a corpse. When it happened it never felt right and Mark couldn't continue until he got Haechan back to him. It happened every night of that heat. Sometimes Mark couldn't even get the robe off Haechan's shoulders. Other times he could be four fingers in the omega's slick, warmth. When Haechan would go cold. It was five days of torture for both of them.  
Mark's ruts were worse. Haechan wanted to help. But Mark was afraid he would be able to keep control of himself to protect his omega. And Haechan understood the fear. He felt it to, right along with the urge to offer himself to help. Mark took it upon himself to stay away during his ruts. Sometimes leaving the palace for another city. He always brought something back for Haechan. He didn't want to hurt his omega. But they both knew either way they were hurting each other.  
Tonight Haechan would play his piano outside in the cool night air until the heat inside his body became too much. Then he would retreat into their bed chambers. Mark wouldn't be there. It would leave the omega no choice but cool baths. And his own fingers that never were going to be enough. It would drive him crazy.

"You two need to talk about it." Taeil was sitting in Mark's study. Haechan scent could still reach here. But they were far enough away that Mark could keep his senses about himself.  
"It's been three years Mark. The people love Haechan so much. They are excited about your children. They are waiting. But some people are talking. The advisors might make a motion for a second omega if you and Haechan can't conceive this year." Mark had heard the whispers through doors thought closed. He didn't give a shit what they were saying. But he worried that Haechan would hear. And he knew Haechan would care. 

And it wasn't like they weren't trying but Haechan had some demons and Mark wanted to fight them all before becoming one of them too. Haechan was trying too. Sometimes they had nights like their first, when they were mated, they had duties, they had emotions. There were nights when they felt so strongly again. And Haechan would hold tightly to Mark's shoulders. His honeyed voice weakened by his cries. And he stayed with Mark. Matching him thrust for thrust. Those nights were few and far between. There were other nights when Mark got so carried away between Haechan's thick warm thighs, he'd burst his knot before getting it close to his husband. They had many more of those nights. Some would think they were wasted times. But Mark cherished each and every time he saw his beautiful husband gasping for breath, coming down from a high only he could deliver him to. But he would talk with Haechan after this heat. He swore it. 

Three days in and Haechan knew it would peak tonight. He wouldn't be able to move at all. It was the worst night. And to make it worse there could be no one here for him. Mark, his oh so sweet husband, wouldn't be able to hold himself back if he were to walk in. His heat could trigger Seonghwa's. And his other guards were unmated, tonight would be too much for them as well. He would be alone with his thoughts tonight. The fear was always the worst this night. When Mark had tried to help him through his heat before he never made it past the first night. But the things that worried Mark that night would be three times worse tonight. Haechan cried the day away to himself, not moving from their bed. 

By the fifth day Haechan had nothing left. He was exhausted. Mark would check in on him today. He had a night to cool off from the peak of his heat. He was much more manageable. San and Jongho brought him some food. They didn't stay too long. Their scents were never pleasant to Haechan for a day or so after his heat. Hongjoong stopped by in the afternoon. Usually bringing a message from Seonghwa. He too, left quickly. The sun was just setting, casting their room in beautiful shades of orange and red, when Mark came in. His scent was full of worry, care, and love, it was home to Haechan. He buried himself into Mark's arms. Enjoying the embrace the most after being without it for four days and nights. You're so beautiful. Mark's nose was buried in Haechan's messy hair. Those words were whispered across their bond. Mark thought it every time he came back to Haechan.  
Haechan made a noise in the back of his throat, much like a whine, more like a mewl. He shuffled back letting Mark throw off his coat and kneel in the bed after him. It was a routine. Mark held him close for the fifth and final feeble night of his heat. His scent was still strong, but the hints of exhaustion and loneliness kept Mark from losing himself. Tender and gentle, that night was about support and care. Not something physical. 

"Love, sleep well tomorrow we must talk."


	2. Filler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There might be a way to find what's holding onto Haechan. But how will they find it ...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a bit of a filler chapter. It's not really filler. In my head I'd take this one and the next one and combine them to make it a proper two shot. Buuutttt I feel bad it's been a long while. Covid really kicked my lazy butt. 
> 
> And well the next chapter ... isntwrittenyet. I wanted to give anyone reading this something. So here!

The sun was late. Dark clouds covered the sky as far as anyone could see in the Auroraian capital. The palace was quiet too. The dampness that came with the clouds slipped betweens the thick stone walls, chilling inside. 

Haechan had been awake for some time. He could feel the chill on the tip if his nose all the way down to his feet buried beneath plenty of blankets. There was a warmth missing beside him where his husband should have been. They were going to talk. He couldn't hear Mark in the connected bathing room. But his royal overcoat was still draped loosely over the chair beside their bed. He probably wasn't far away then. Haechan braced himself for the cold and carefully climbed out from the bed. He carefully tied a warm robe over his thin silk gown. And borrowed Mark's overcoat as well. It had been a few days since Haechan could go out and he felt the urge to check on Seonghwa and the rest of his guards. 

The halls were quiet as it normally got when storms were approaching. Haechan pulled Mark's overcoat tighter around his cold form. Mark and Haechan's trusted guards stayed in the royal wing with the royal couple so it didn't take long for Haechan to make it to their rooms. Where he found Seonghwa taking gentle care of an injured Jongho. 

"Oh what happened" Haechan approached carefully. Jongho sighed, looking a bit embarrassed. 

"Just bad footing." He mumbled. Seonghwa smiled softly before answering Haechan more honestly. 

"Jongho got twisted up on the practice field with one of your husband's knights. He sprained his knee terribly." 

Under Seonghwa's care it would take long for Jongho to recover, Haechan was assured. Leaving the room he found San returning from below looking much like a wet dog. They discussed a little about the goings on while Haechan was enduring his heat. 

"Oh your majesty. I believe your husband wishes for you to come down to his library when you are comfortable. He was still in his night clothes so I'd assume there is no reason for you to worry about dressing up." San left him with an exaggerated curtsey that always would bring a laugh bubbling up Haechan's throat. Haechan felt warmer knowing everything seemed to be okay here, even after such a rocky road to get here. Everything was okay except the royal couple's intimacy problems, which was probably all Haechan's fault. But he was trying nothing worked. There was still something holding him. 

The king's library was a magnificent structure to behold. Three floors of books, every shelf backed as full as the ones around it. Some at the back were bare leaving room for new stories to fill them up. The large fireplace was roaring making the much more comfortable against the chilly temperatures the rain brought with it. Mark's desk set up against one of the large windows that let light fill the spacious room. But Mark wasn't sitting at it like Haechan had expected to find him. Hunched over a thick book about predicting the weather or the lands changing geography. Instead Mark was at the fireplace with Kun, the royal family's scribe. Haechan had only had a few conversations with Kun. He was a strange man, who knew so much. Some of the chamber maids spread rumors that his family had made deals with devils. Haechan didn't believe them but he always felt like Kun knew more than he would say and could not reason how he did. 

Kun noticed the consort first Mark was deep in thought watching the flames dance along the dark stones at the back of the fire place. Kun smiled and inclined his head to Haechan. Haechan smiled back coming over to the other two to see what they were on about. His attention was drawn to an old leather bound booklet in Kun's hands. The cover was dyed an opalescent blue that sparked unnaturally in the fire light. Mark turned to him when his footsteps came to a stop in the space between the king and his scribe. When their eyes met Haechan saw something he's never seen in Mark's eyes before, fear. But it softened when Haechan's reflected worry back immediately. He reached out softly, hands coming to hold Mark's face. 

"What is it?" They didn't avoid each other, they found that it was better to be straightforward. To avoid any mistakes. 

"I think I have an idea to help release the hold on you, your majesty." Kun spoke quietly beside them. 

"We have to take you home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come say hello, I'm on Twitter [@petrichorsun](https://twitter.com/petrichorsun?s=09)


	3. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haechan hadn't been home in years. And he really wasn't glad to be there again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ps let me know there any errors, I'm not reading this over, ONWARD!

It had been years. Haechan had forgotten much about his home. Stygian was a distant nightmare. He was trying to forget everything. Kun had talked to him alone in the library. After Mark left to prepare their trip. Kun had said that through the hardest parts of life there is always the hardest lesson to learn. 

Mark rode a distance ahead of him. Yuta and Johnny on either side. Jeno kept the pace directly in front of Haechan and his guards. Haechan had asked for his guards to be close around him, Jongho said he was fine but he walked with a noticeable limp. Then Jaehyun was at the end of their party with Doyoung, a sorcerer that Taeil knew, and had sent to them saying he might be able to help. From the little conversation Mark had told him of the Stygian capital being abandoned. The people of his home were disgusted by their leader's greed and terrified of vengeful spirits they left behind in the castle. Most of Stygian was now desolate; the folks that had once called that place home were now refuged neighboring countries.

When the party crossed into what was the land of Stygian the difference was noticeable. As if the land knew there was nothing to live for, everything was dead. Trees rotten and fallen into the path. The ground parched and dusty. They had only been riding a few minutes but were coated in a layer of the dirt that floated up from the horses' hooves. 

Mark pulled back to check on Haechan. Together they decided to push on; not wanting to stop for rest in the dead field. The sun set and there was nothing around them. When it rose in the morning they were still riding. Haechan was sleepy, he was never use to long trips. Seonghwa rose beside and kept him awake. As the sun rose to its peak, burning down on the dead ground the castle appeared on the horizon. 'We'll be there by nightfall' Johnny had said. He was always back, to the place he had mistaken for a home years ago. 

The castle still was a sight to see. Tall towers and extra large doors. The windows were dark as they always were for Haechan when he saw them in the dead of the night. It felt oddly cold. Lonely. Johnny dismounted as they got to the gates to pull them open. They gave way with a horrible screech. Yuta hopped down next to grab the reins of the front three horses to steady them for Mark to dismount. The three of them were careful to watch their surroundings. As soon as Johnny and Yuta were confident that there were no threats Mark came back to help Haechan off his own horse. Mark expression was guarded and blank, not something Haechan had seen before. It wasn't comforting. No one wanted to be back here. 

As the party slowly made their way into the entrance hall Haechan took the cautious lead with Seonghwa on his side. They passed the throne room, the doors were still wide open beckoning the curious to look inside. Haechan remembered that room, the pure white marble and hard gold throne at the back, high up on a dais. He hadn't been allowed in that room after hours presentation. And that final memory of that room was enough to take Haechan by the doors without even a seconds glance. Yuta and Johnny stopped and looked in. The evidence of their revenge was still there, clear. Red stained the pure white stones. 

Haechan stopped at the main entrance to the gardens. It had been his favorite place when he was here. The only place he had felt loved. He could still remember the soft voice his nanny had used to sing to him. He could still remember how gentle she was to him. She had probably always known what he would be. She had left him with his only happy memories from this place he had once called his home. But Haechan moved away from the gardens as his thoughts turned dark. He recalled the look of disgust his own mother made even as she had to know she was going to die. She was never going to love him.

They led the way up a small hidden staircase behind the main stairs, it was the only way to Haechan's rooms. Johnny didn't remember seeing them. 

"That's the point. No one was supposed to find me" Haechan said. Answering the unvoiced question. Not to see and not to be seen.

The silence that followed Haechan's cold statement was deafening. It was quiet as the group made it to Haechan's wing. Dusty but untouched. It looked just like it had that night years ago. Haechan's bed chamber was at the end of the hall and it to was exactly as he remembered. Soft beige sheets still covered his old bed. It all was untouched by anything but dust. Slowly Haechan circled the room before sitting on the edge the bed. Mark's knights stepped out of the room. Haechan's guards one by one did the same. Leaving Haechan alone with his memories and Mark.  
His thoughts were plagued with memories of the happier times in his youth. The only times he truly smiled, when he was with his nanny, when he felt like someone loved him.  
Haechan hadn't noticed he had been crying until he felt Mark take his face ever as gentle and wipe the tears away. Looking into the eyes of the person he had found a home in Haechan saw the same thing that had been in the only other person that loved him.

You can't take more than you can give.  
The answers to life  
Start within.

It was what she told him every night before putting him to sleep. It was words that she had said could fix anything. Think Haechan. Mark has figured out how to love him. And he thought that he loved Mark too.

"I don't know what love is. I need to learn to love myself before I can love someone else. Start within." Haechan was talking to himself. He wasn't really aware of himself anymore. His nanny had been teaching him love and now Mark was. 

"I fell in love with you so quickly Haechan." Mark answered as soft as his hands still holding onto Haechan's cheeks. "I will keep showing you what love is until you understand." 

Haechan looked back up at Mark at that twinkle in his dark eyes. Maybe he was already starting to understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come give me a follow on Twitter [@petrichorsun](https://twitter.com/petrichorsun?s=09)
> 
> I have a kofi if anyone wants to support 🤗  
> [Buy Me A Drink ](https://ko-fi.com/marissaur)

**Author's Note:**

> Yes? A two shot. Kick it made me. Come yell at me on Twitter.


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